Dark Guardian
by Wooden Bracelet
Summary: A small character reflection on Duo Maxwell aka Shinigami.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing written here. It all belongs to someone(s) else.**

**Author's Pre-Story Ramble:** Having had positive feedback on my first story, I felt galvanized towards writing another character reflection, this time on Duo Maxwell from the Gundam Wing series. I very much like this character, because he has so many different faces he presents to the world. I don't know what his true face is, but I'll try to sketch out what one of the ideas I had about how he truely is beneath it all. I'm not terribly well informed on the series, but I'm still gonna take a wack at it. If I'm wrong about any details, chalk it up to ignorance and my broad imagination. I hope you enjoy!

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Ever tried cleaning space debris from a Gundam? It honestly is worse than trying to scrub a pot filled with gravy left on the stove on high for a few hours. Brute stength was a plus to have when trying to get the metal surface clean. Something Duo Maxwell did not precisely have in spades. Gundam pilot he may be, but he did not possess the strength Trowa or Heero had. Wu Fei he may match in brawn, but the truth of that was unsure, though they were both the same height, a mere five feet and one inch.

Methodically, and carefully, Duo attempted to restore the cleanliness of his Gundam to its former pristine appearence. It was his instument of dealing destruction, his death dealer to those that persecuted the helpless and innocent. Not for the first time, the Maxwell demon wondered what his guardian, Father Maxwell would have thought about his method of protecting those that could not protect themselves. While Father Maxwell preached the need for peace until his untimely demise, Duo wondered if he would realize that abosolute pacifism practiced only by a minority lead to the explotion of the weaker by the strong who did not hold the same values. And even if the majority practiced pacifism, what would happen if a strong group did not practice it? They could rule everyone under the threat of violent retaliation for those that opposed their will. Duo believed in being a guardian of peace, but not one that would allow those under his protection to be harmed by inaction when violent men showed their faces. If there must be death, he would deal it. It was his duty.

However, the self-proclaimed Shinigami did not always think this way. Originally, when he learned of Deathscythe's true purpose, he attempted to halt the hideous plans for himself and his suit by destroying it, everyone involved with the plan that he could find, and himself. Of course, Professor G disuaded him otherwise and incited him to steal it instead. It was not long after that time that he devised a new purpose for being a killer with his new ideal. One that he could live with.

Finished with his task, he looked at up at the monstrous Gundam that gleamed darkly. His face was impassive and still, a sight that startled Quatre as he entered the holding area where his own Gundam was kept. Never had he seen the pilot so silent and still. The small blonde wondered if Duo had even heard him come in. Usually the dark-haired pilot would be chattering away whenever any living being was anywhere near him, sentinent or not. His friend's quiet figure troubled him for a reason he could not discern. Within his heart, he almost felt as if Duo was in pain, but he could not figure the feelings out. Shinigami was normally a pretty much closed book to him, like the other pilots. "Duo?" he called softly.

Startled, Duo whipped around, his eyes gone comically wide and an immediate grin pasted itself on his face. "Shit, Q-man, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Now Quatre felt even more worried at such a swift change in his friend's demeanor. But he did not let his impression on the incident show on his face, and instead put on a cheery smile. Duo had returned to being a iron-bound shut door to him, the emotions he felt earlier no longer there or hidden away behind that facade the other pilot maintained. "Sorry," he replied, "Didn't meant to startle you."

"What are you doing here?" Duo asked curiously. He had folded his arms over his chest in his normal posture, his ever-present grin in place.

"Just wanted to check on Sandrock," Quatre said, waving a hand in the direction of the Gundam. "Were you going to be around for dinner? I think Trowa was experimenting on making paella."

"Yeah, in a little bit. My hands are pretty dirty from getting all that junk off Deathscythe."

Quatre nodded. Despite what the other pilots may think about Duo, the guy was pretty fastidious about his appearence. While the other guys saw the braid he wore as being extravagant and hazardous, Quatre noticed he took care of it even better than his Gundam. More than once he had wondered why he had something that made him stand out so much. But he had the feeling that if he asked, he would get an answer he would not really want to know. "See you at dinner then," Quatre said. He moved over to his Gundam and did his routine check. By the time he finished, Duo had disappeared. "I wonder what he was thinking about?" he asked aloud to no one.

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**Author's Post-Story Ramble:** Geh, that was harder than I thought it would be. Duo is a difficult character to write. He reminds me of Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi with that apparently jovial nature that hides dark, painful thoughts. The height of the pilots, excepting Trowa Barton- lucky guy is 160cm- is supposedly 156cm. I did a little math and they are apparently 61 inches tall, making them 5ft and 1in. That's pretty short. They're only 15, but still...that's short. Trowa's not much better off, either. Let's not even talk about Trieze and Zechs...considering their heritage, you'd think they'd be taller by at least a few inches or something. I'm under the impression that Quatre is an empath in the paranormal nature. I may be wrong, but that's what I thought he was. Please tell me if I'm wrong, since it seems to be an important detail...if I'm wrong, I'm not going to change anything, because I like the idea of him being an empath. As I said earlier, I don't know a whole lot about the series, so there is a huge amount of things I could have gotten wrong. Please review and tell me what you think!


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